Robotron Instruction Manual

Robotron Drawing Set

Robotron Parts List

Purchased: June 2006

Restoration:
I purchased this cabinet at the Milwaukee Superauction, it had been converted at least twice, most recently to a Data East game titled Break Thru (Yuk!).  Originally a Stargate cabaret, I had every intention initially of restoring back to Stargate.  I ran into a real roadblock however, in that I could not find a Control Panel overlay or even a decent scan of one.  Plan B, always in the back of my mind, was to make it into a Robotron.  From everything I can tell, the cabinets on most Williams cabarets (unlike the uprights) are identical.

Since the cabinet had been painted over grey, and then red, and had some Break Thru side art on it it was going to be no more difficult to turn this into a Robotron.  Quarterarcade.com sells some great lexan control panel overlays for the Robotron Cabarets.  I put a post out on the RGVAC group and managed to find a NOS Bezel, and another collector hooked me up with a repro translite marquee.  I hope to eventually find an original silkscreen marquee.

One of the first things I did was to install new 2"x2" square blocks with stainless steel 3/8" T-Nuts for the new leg levelers.  Originally the cabaret cabinet only featured (non-statinless) T-Nuts right in the bottom of the cabinet.  For my tastes this leaves the bottom of the cabinet too vulnerable to damage, as was evidenced by the significant damange to the bottom edges of this cabinet.  Installed the 3/4" blocks to the bottom of the cabinet using wood glue and 1 1/4" crown staples brings the mounting point for the leg levelers flush with the bottom of the cabinet, so even if the levelers are screwed all the way in, the bottom of the cabinet is still well protected.  This is an important step considering how much time and effort was going to go into repairing and repainting the cabinet woodwork.

After several days of bondo and sanding I had all the major gouges and holes filled, and the cabinet edges fairly straight and smooth.  I primed the front of the cabinet grey, as I've have best results with that under black.  I sanded smooth to 220 grit.  I primed each side of the cabinet with several coats of white primer/sealer and sanded in between the coats to 220 grit.  An important trick I've learned recently is to purchase a good supply of cheap Tack Clothes.  No matter how well you wipe the cabinet clean, a tack cloth will pick up lots more dust and debris.

Brian Jones posted recently to RGVAC that he found an ideal paint in the Signature American Traditions line at Lowes.  They carry a Brilliant Metal paint named Pewter Luster that recreates the slight metallic finish that a factory fresh Robotron would have.  It's actually a two part process, first spraying a plain grey basecoat (Weathered Fossil) and then the Pewter Luster topcoat.  I have to say, the result is absolutely perfect!  And very easy to achieve.

Brian Jones has built up quite an inventory of Williams upright and cabaret stencils.  I originally purchased a set of Stargate mini stencils from him, and when I switched to Plan B the first thing I did was order a set of Robotron Mini stencils from him.  These come in two layers for each side, Red and Blue.  Unlike the upright the Red layer is painted first on the cabaret, followed by the blue.  Most people decide to spray the stenciled colors on, I decided to try using a 4" Ultra Smooth foam roller.  I was more than pleased with the results, and it was much quicker and easier, with almost no clean up (I just threw out the paint tray and roller pads).

I used a wiring harness from an upright Stargate, which is almost an exact match for Robotron.  I modified a couple of the connections and everything fit well within the cabaret cabinet.  It's always helpful to keep a good supply of Molex connectors on hand. 

* 11/24/2008 Update: I was able to obtain an original cabaret wiring harness.  After replacing the upright harness I had previously installed, I'm much happier with the final result.  While the upright harness worked, the Williams cabaret cabinets have much more wire management than the upright cabinets, probably due to the smaller space.  This original wiring harness allows me to replicate the wire management (wire holders attached to the pcbs with the pcb mounting screws), and looks much better.

Next to painting, the biggest challenge by far was the control panel.  Since the original control panel was a hacked up Stargate panel it was not usable.  I did pull the hinge off, and repainted for a nice satin black finish.  Fortunately, I had recently repro'd the metal mounting plates that go under the Robotron joysticks on the upright control panel.  It turns out the same plates are used on the cabaret.  Brian Jones happened to need about fives sets for a series of Robotron cabaret wood control panel blanks he was making.  A deal was struck and now I had the base for my new control panel.  I picked up one of PhoenixArcade's repro Robotron cabaret Overlays, cleaned up a set of original Robotron short translucent blue buttons and installed a set of new leaf switch joysticks.  I pulled a set of lamp holders and wiring from a converted Williams control panel I had in the garage and used the original Williams wiring, leaf switches (start buttons) and 15-pin connector from that same panel to wire up the whole thing.  I knew there was a reason I kept all those old converted control panels around.

To top off my good fortune Scott Caldwell happened to repro the bracket that goes on the top end of the cabaret control panel and supports it just beneath the bezel.  The original plastic bracket on my cabinet must have cracked long ago and was replaced with a smaller metal one.  I picked up one of the few brackets Scott had made and it is an excellent improvement over both the original bracket and the replacement one that was on my machine.  A nice coat of satin black and a few holes for the screws and my control panel was finished.

I decided not to mess around with the original 13" WG4700 monitor and ordered a new 13" Wells monitor.  Besides the great picture, it's really nice to have the remote control board to adjust the picture. 

Cabaret Notes:
The Marquee light fixture is actually a series of mini-bulbs rather than a flourescent light fixture like on the upright.

 

Page Last Updated:
Tuesday March 27, 2007